chew up

Verb

chew up (third-person singular simple present chews up, present participle chewing up, simple past and past participle chewed up)

1. (transitive) To chew so as to make something pulpy or tangled.
   • She had to chew up the food for him because his teeth are too small.
   • The tape got chewed up in the cassette player.
2. (idiomatic, transitive) To ruin (especially land), by digging.
3. (US, slang, transitive) To defeat utterly.
   • The Yankees chewed up the Dodgers.
4. (slang, transitive) To upset or bother (someone).